A response to “race baiting”

It’s not a surprise that there were some strong reactions to my article in Sunday’s paper about the lack of white residents using the city’s public pools. Race is something people don’t like to talk about, but I believe it should be discussed.

I disagree that the article was “race baiting”, however, as some online commenter’s contended. All I did was ask a question and try to find some answers. If some people interpreted the article as an attack against a particular race (I heard from both blacks and whites who felt this way), that was not my intention and I do not think there are any examples in the article supporting such an interpretation.

After living here for 12 years, I’ve found that whites and blacks tend to stick to their own when it comes to some communities, activities and organizations. Sunday’s article - and future articles I have planned on the subject - are intended to ask why this is.

Hopefully, the answers can help lead to less division in these areas, whatever the cause. Call me idealistic, but I think the world stands to benefit if there was more mixing of people from different backgrounds, races, economic levels and religious beliefs. It is a lot harder to understand someone when you have no interaction with them.

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I don't have to do any research to tell you people are more comfortable and prefer the company of individuals with similar tastes and likes. People segregate themselves in many ways and they do it on a voluntary basis.

Eric, I notice that while you lament the lack of interaction between blacks and whites, you leave out the lack of interaction between whites and latinos, whites and asians, blacks and latinos, blacks and asians. Have you done any research as to how many blacks, asians and latinos are members of the Chamber of Commerce? You say, Eric you have been living here for 12 years, tell me how did whites and blacks get along where you came from? Your concept of mixing comes dangerously close to annihilation. Asborbing both races into each other, say it isn't so. Some reactions to your article alright, 102 of them at the last count.

I guess I read Sunday's article wrong because I wasn't offended by it at all. I thought Eric made some good points, many of which are common knowledge. As he pointed out, segregation still exists, only difference is, now its by choice instead of law. I agree with Eric ( in my idealistic view) that if we can get the races (ALL races) working together, then society would stand to benefit. I believe that everyone can bring something different to the table, but we have to be willing to sit down, listen to each other, and work together. I do believe that things are different in certain areas of the country when it comes to race relations and we can learn from those whose societies are more meshed.

It amazes me how upset people on these boards get when race is discussed in an article. Yet, it is constantly bought up in the comment section. No matter how much we deny it, racism still exists. Yes, it works both ways. The only way to end it is to discuss it openly and clear the air of misconceptions and stereotypes. As a country, we have come a long way with race relations, but don't be mislead, we still have a long way to go.

I live where there is a pool. It is a private pool. I can't tell you how many [filtered word] off black mothers I've seen cuss out the pool staff because it is a pay only membership. Even though they are welcomed to join they start the "it's because we are black..and then they start the "you can't discriminate". And we don't ..if you pay you can swim.
Maybe the real reason there aren't more whites in the free pools is cultural. I don't want to go listen to a bunch of hip hop music at the pool, nor do I want to listen to a bunch of ghetto talk..and yes you know that's the talk..I call it ghetto for lack of a better word, but it isn't proper grammar or language and not something I want to expose my kids to either! It's hard enough to teach them as it is with the media supposing that bastardized English language. And outside of the music business, name me one person who has "made it" that speaks like that?
Maybe we just are different, we should respect that difference and as long as its a choice..then maybe segregation isn't such a bad thing.

I completely agree with you. I think that was one of the most ignorant and inappropriate things Otis, or anyone in a position such as his, could have said. The fact that he thought it was appropriate to say it, and the fact that others seem to push it, even when they don't say it, shows how much more work needs to be done.

you sound a bit hostile. I wasn't trying to attack you. I was just wondering about the point of your article.

Please understand, I think there should be open and honest discourse about race. It is time out for the sugar coating things and time to put it all on the table, in a respectful way.

I work, pay my bills and take care of my family, as well.

No one is saying that you have to sit down with anybody, if that is not what you want to do. What I was saying is that sitting down and having an open conversation is the way to working toward a solution. This is America; you are an adult; you can make your own decisions. No one is trying to make you do anything.

It isn't important to me that your daughter be the only white child in the classroom or the swimming pool. For the record, I am the only black person in my office, but I am OK with that because I love my coworkers. I learn a lot from them. Also, I don't take my black children to the public pools because I don't like the rowdy behavior that is sometimes present. As far as her dating black guys, shouldn't that be her choice. I have told my three daughters that I don't care who they date, just so long as they are being treated right.

As far as the commissioner you are referring to, I didn't vote for him. He isn't in my district, nor would I have voted for him because of the friction his presence causes. I don't have any problem talking about him, and I do wonder if his supposed change of heart is sincere, but I cannnot know what is going on inside his mind or heart.

If you want to vote for a KKK member, then be my guest. Your vote is your vote. I have no control over it, nor do I want to. There is no difference. Vote for whomever you feel will represent you best. What I do have a problem with is voting for someone solely because of their race. Just because someone looks like you does not mean they are the best person for the job, nor does it mean they have your best interest in mind.

I don't have an agenda when it comes to race relations. As a parent, I make sure my children look at others for who they are, not how they look. Not all black people are good, and by the same token, not all black people are bad. In addition, not all white people are good, and not all are bad. People are more than their skin color. I want others to realize this as well, and that is why I feel the talk about racism is needed. Do know, I respect your right to disagree, but this is how I feel.

Don't we tend to separate ourselves more by class than race? There are some functions which attract primarily white attendees that I don't attend because I would not have anything in common with the class of others in attendance and would be offended by their behavior. There are some neighborhoods in Savannah which are almost exclusively white that I would not want to live around.
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I didn't have any problem when my daughter was growing up with her black classmates and their families in another city. But there is a huge class difference in the socioeconomic and educational level of the black children in my daughter's classes from what she would have experienced had she grown up in Savannah. I also didn't live in a city where the mayors and city council members couldn't put a proper English sentence together or even pronounce it correctly. That's class - not a race issue.

I agree with previous poster, I don't want to be around hip-hop music or ghetto talk which you hear in Savannah anytime you are within 50 feet of your typical black youth here and I certainly don't want my daughter around it.

My first house in Savannah was on a block that was predominately white but with one black family smack in the middle of the block. Eventually four home owners including myself sold our homes after spending several years renovating essentially because we had no peace with our black neighbors and they weren't going anywhere so we had no choice. We couldn't enjoy our front porches because of the loud ghetto talk and music and neighbors on either side for two houses couldn't even enjoy their backyards, we were awakened multiple times at night from either fights or the presence of police, we suffered small acts of vandalism, harassment of our pets by the children in the family and down right theft. So why would I want to accept denying myself the right of quiet and peaceful enjoyment of my home? None of us wanted to continue to live by them and I certainly would not want to take my children to a pool where instead of being around 3 or 4 children from this family, I would be around 40 just like them? Again, it's class and not race.

Sarinaya, life is too short to be mean and bitter. Don’t let the mayor, the city council, and the behavior of a few others influence or define your character. You spend a lot of time posting in the SMN, and most of your posts are negative comments. You obviously are an unhappy person. Get out the house or office and enjoy your life. Savannah can be a fun place to be, if you get out and experience it. If you are not ready for Savannah –yet, go elsewhere and enjoy your life. Lastly, no one is better than anyone else. Take a look at your sentences. You are obviously not English major. Don’t condemn little black boys and girls until you are perfect.

You'll laugh and make jokes about the black boys and girls diction, and you willing fail to acknowledge the lingering effects of your forefather’s bad behavior. Furthermore, Savannah has a lot of folks that are decedents of the Gullah Geechee. Black folks can go to school now so we should strive to do better, but don’t laugh. Fix yourselves first. Personally, I like spitting the country grammar.

The editors of this publication are using the latest DISTRACTION to keep your eyes off " the big picture".

Since the latest WMD incident, ( which GAS is NOT, it is a weapon of theater denial, they know this... but why correct the liberal / progressive media who cater to them ? ) the public has been served,.. nobody is talking about, the IRS, Bengazi, NSA, Deficient, Budget, ( or lack of ) or anything important in regards to THIS COUNTRY.

Oh I do enjoy Savannah a lot, it just took me a couple of years to realize that the black community here was so very different from anywhere I had lived previously and one had to be aware of who the neighbors were when you purchased a house. Now that I live in a neighborhood where the behavior I had to endure when I first arrived here is not tolerated so I'm much happier.

I am aware that many of my posts might seem negative, but aren't most comments that people post after an article in opposition to the article or something another poster said? Hence, could appear negative? I've also posted many positive comments which I guess you have missed. When I don't post after an article, it probably means that I agree with the journalist.

And no, I was not an English major, I was just taught at home and in school how to speak and write English properly and may have taken an English literature class or two in college. I am constantly amazed that people who walk around brandishing the appellation "Dr." So and So can't speak their native language properly. I can understand if you got your doctorate from some 3rd rate evangelical theological seminary, maybe the finer points of speaking and writing properly were not emphasized or even frowned upon in that milieu, but if you were awarded a doctorate from Brandeis University, I would assume you would have been expected to know speak and write English in an educated manner. I know as a white student, it would have been expected of me. But unfortunately there have been a lot of degrees awarded to fill a quota or appease a segment of the population, so the same standards were not expected in many of those cases and it shows every time Otis opens his mouth.

My great uncle's wife was born into a very poor family of sharecroppers who grew up in a dirt floored shanty. She only had a sixth grade education before she had to work in the fields. She decided at one point when she went out into the world, that she needed to fill in the gaps and completely by self motivation educated herself (I'm pretty sure there were no GED's then). By the time I was born and growing up, she was absolutely and without question the most educated, erudite, well spoken and well read person I had in my life as a young girl. She persistently corrected my pronunciation and provided new words for my vocabulary making sure I understood the full definition of each, she constantly guided my reading and provided books that opened new worlds for me. And she didn't possess even a high school degree much less a college degree. Her three children were all professionals and when she died, the art work she had the foresight to collect was worth a fortune. I miss her terribly and realize how lucky I was to have the influence of such a person.

Several years ago, I also remember there was a young black girl, the daughter of an incarcerated crack addict, who was homeless living in a cardboard box under a bridge while she attended high school. She was valedictorian of her class when Oprah discovered her story and paid for her college education.

Compare the ghetto on the lower east side of New York City which was populated by the extremely poor East European Jewish immigrants who only spoke Yiddish upon arrival at the turn of the last century. No group were more despised for their manner of dress, their religion, their language and their poverty. There was no welfare or food stamps or Medicaid nor the social services we have available today. Within one generation, their children were educated and well spoken and had usually become successful businessmen or doctors and lawyers. The Jewish ghetto on the lower east side is no more. And this is still true for succeeding generations of Jewish immigrants who more often than not have suffered heinous discrimination and crimes against humanity in their birth country. They have worked their way out without using any "your lingering forefathers" crutches.

So as GhostofMirv has encouraged you, stop using this anthem as a crutch and demand people be accountable for their own behavior. Stop encouraging your children and grandchildren to use the same crutch. We live in a country where resources are available to anyone with the ambition to improve themselves and attaining success is possible. It is a choice to remain in the ghetto and remain uneducated. A choice - not a life sentence unless you choose it to be.